ABCs
by Vampyre Heartbreak
Summary: The ABCs of Ichigo and Orihime's relationship. -oneshot- IchiHime!


This was so much fun to do! It was inspired by a fifty-theme oneshot I saw, and then I wanted to do one, except I thought it would be more fun to do a oneshot with the letters in the alphabet where each letter corresponds to something about or with their relationship. I had to get real creative on some of them. XP

And yay for vague innuendo, which this seems to be stuffed full of! Hah hah.

Make sure you guys tell me your favorite letter!

**Beta'd**: Yes, by my ever-wonderful betaess, _IDontNeedToReply_.  
**Rating**: T, for swearing and vague innuendo.  
**Finished?** Yes.

* * *

**A** is for **Apples**

Orihime had always had this fascination with making recipes with food that _never _deserved to be cooked together. Even before he actually, really knew her, the stories about her lunches were infamous.

Lately, she had been on a bit of an apple kick, and seemed to want to combine everything she made with them. And he was usually the unfortunate test subject, as all of their other so-called friends seemed to vanish right about the time she revealed her latest creation.

And despite how absolutely horrendous her creations were, he would usually choke it down and lie to her about how good it was, just for that special little smile she would flash him, right before she would steal some of his food using her lips.

And that always made the nausea he would get afterwards worth it.

* * *

**B **is for** Balls**

Ichigo would never forget the day that Orihime confessed her feelings for him.

With her friends rooting loudly behind her and Ishida with that _damned_ smirk of his, she stumbled into him, having tripped clumsily over a small rock that had been in her way. He had begun to steady her, only to have her fist her tiny hands into the shirt of his school uniform and drag him down to her level so she could thoroughly kiss him.

After kissing him until he was good and stupid, she stepped back and told him in a quiet voice exactly how she felt about him.

After that, everyone teased him that his girlfriend had more balls than he did.

* * *

**C **is for** Cat**

Kyo was the name she bestowed upon a scrawny little thing that he would not dare call a cat.

It was an orange, striped thing that had hissed at him immediately upon sight and purred obnoxiously when Orihime approached it. Despite Ichigo's protests, she had adopted the flea-bitten animal with the conviction that it actually resembled Ichigo.

At first, she had wanted to name it Ichigo as well, but Ichigo refused, no matter how many puppy-dog eyes she shot him. Eventually, she decided to name it Kyo after a character from one of her shojo manga, Fruits Basket. Tatsuki had declared that Ichigo should get to know the doghouse due to his hatred against the thing, though his beloved girlfriend was much too nice to do that and merely made him experience her couch for a few days while 'Kyo' slept in her bed.

He still hated that obnoxious thing.

* * *

**D** is for **Dare**

At a party for Ishida, Tatsuki had dared the two of them to go into the closet for ten minutes. It hadn't taken Ichigo long to figure out what she was implying, even if she never said as much. And judging by Orihime's blush, she had figured it out too.

The two of them had found a dusty pack of cards in the closet and spent five minutes playing Poker, before Orihime got fed up and jumped him.

When Tatsuki had opened the door after the ten minutes were up, the two of them were found with Ichigo's shirt half unbuttoned and his orange hair tousled, Orihime's hairpins scattered into a far corner of the room, her hands around his neck, her lips kiss-swollen, and Ichigo's hand up her shirt. After an initial moment of resemblance to a deer caught in headlights, the two sprang apart as if the contact burned, immediately fumbling to fix their disheveled appearances.

Tatsuki had cleared her throat awkwardly, looking away. "Jesus, I'd just wanted you two to talk."

* * *

**E** is for **Electric**

Every time Ichigo touched her, there was a spark of electricity.

It could be as simple as him handing her a pencil she had dropped, but the electricity still happened. Whenever he held her in his arms, it felt as if a generator had been placed inside her as her skin always danced under his touch.

She had no idea if Ichigo knew, though she wasn't brave enough to ask if it was the same way with him.

Ichigo would eventually tell her that it was exactly the same with him and her touch.

* * *

**F** is for **Faults**

Both Ichigo and Orihime were brave enough to admit (at least to themselves) that their relationship wasn't perfect.

They each had their own faults, and sometimes they didn't see eye to eye, resulting in Ichigo having to sleep either on her couch or in his own bed at home. Sometimes it was bad enough for Tatsuki to try and come after him with intent to kill, but they always made up in the end.

Despite their faults, they were willing to try and make it work out, because of their love for each other.

* * *

**G** is for **Gratitude**

Orihime stared at Aizen's limp, bloody body, relief flooding her and making her go slack as she slumped to the ground. Was it truly, finally, over?

"Inoue, are you hurt?" Kurosaki-kun's voice broke into her trance and she saw sandaled feet approach her, pausing in front of her. Crimson blood stained the socks that adorned his feet and the hem of his shihakusho. Her throat welled up with unshed tears, and she followed the line of Ichigo's bruised, bloodied body until her grey eyes met his worried brown ones. After a moment, his question clicked dimly in her mind, and she forced herself to shake her head. "Good." And with that simple word, all the iron-hard strength that she had always admired in Ichigo seemed to leave him as he collapsed to the ground in front of her, as blood pooled underneath him, soaking both of their clothes in crimson.

Blinking back tears, she scooted so close to him she was almost in his lap, examining his broken, battered body, analyzing his deadly wounds as she absently brushed his bloodied, dirty orange hair out of his eyes. Without a word, Shuno and Ayame burst from her hairpins and surrounded Ichigo in a golden glow. It seemed to take forever for his wounds to disappear, but finally he seemed to be good as new and Shuno and Ayame returned into their proper places, job completed.

"Inoue, talk." Kurosaki-kun ordered her worriedly. Then she realized that she had yet to say a word to her orange-haired savior.

"Ku-Kurosaki-kun, I… I'm _sorry_. I'm so, so sorry." She choked out, trying not to cry. She had shed enough tears lately. Now she had to try to be strong.

Ichigo's face creased with confusion. "What're you apologizing for?"

"You-You almost died f-for me. I-I tried to do things on my own, but I-I'm not strong enough." She hiccupped, as tears spilled over despite her best efforts. Furiously, she rubbed at them, though it was to no avail.

"Inoue," Ichigo sighed. "Even if I was dying, I still would come find you. I keep my word, remember?" With a calloused thumb, he rubbed a stray tear away from her cheek.

"B-But I'm not worth it. Yo-You know that the S-Soul Soc-Society considers m-me a tra-traitor." She stammered out, cheeks stained a deep red.

"So?"

She dissolved into tears and hiccups, unable to answer. Ichigo froze, unused to dealing with crying women. She had cried for him after his battle with Byakuya, but he had known those were more happy tears and that no consolation was necessary. This was entirely different. He looked, panicked, around the room, and when he saw nobody other than the _real _traitor's body, he awkwardly pulled Inoue closer to him, patting her back in stilted motions.

Within moments, she broke from his one-armed embrace, and sniffled, still looking miserable. "Kurosaki-kun, thank you." She told him quietly, her stuffed nose making her voice sound funny.

"For what?"

"Saving me."

* * *

**H** is for **Happiness**

Whether or not she had intended it, Orihime had always managed to brighten his day. Whether it was her genuine smile, or her odd way of thinking, or her constant daydreaming, she had always managed to make his day seem a little less shitty.

Though when she attempted to bring him home-made food, he drew the line. He would turn her down as nicely as he could, and Tatsuki would still try to knock him through the window, while Chizuru cheered her on. It was the one time that they would be on the same side.

Then he would always wind up apologizing to Orihime with a black eye, and she would just flash him that carefree smile of hers and tell him that it was okay, and then ask if the little blue men had made him turn her down. And he never had a response.

* * *

**I** is for **Innocence**

Orihime's innocence always confounded Ichigo. After their relationship became public, they all seemed to wind up eating together, his friends and her friends. This would usually result in Keigo cracking perverted jokes that would sometimes get them laughing, and she would just sit there with her ever-present smile and ask if he wanted her to try and make that for him, whatever it was.

Sometimes her naiveté was endearing, and other times it made Ichigo wonder how long it would take before he no longer had to worry about being teased about his hair because of all of the gray hair she would wind up giving him. Such times were when she would accidentally accept a date from a stranger with absolutely no idea that it was a date. More often than not, this would happen when they were together and his back was turned. Then he would turn back around only to see that his girlfriend was missing.

Of course, he would spend the next hour tracking her down, only to find her talking happily with someone she didn't even know the name of. After an argument that usually led Ichigo into getting into a fist fight, they would go home and watch a movie.

Of course, when she fell asleep on his shoulder, and looked downright adorable (at least until she started snoring like a pig), it all seemed worth it.

* * *

**J** is for **Jealousy**

It continued to surprise Orihime just how popular Ichigo had become with the girls in the last few months or so. It had actually taken an off-the-shoulder comment from Tatsuki to make her realize just what was going on, and she was surprised by the jealousy that would well in her chest as she watched.

Of course, Ichigo, being an ignorant fool, would have no clue that the girl was flirting with him. Or that the chocolates that seemed to spill over his desk each Valentine's day were from different girls. She had once asked him about it, and he had seemed openly surprised, and commented that he had thought that they were from her and his other girl friends, though he seemed to forget that he didn't have that many in the world of the living.

After she had gotten over her jealousy, she had begun to subtly stake her claim after having a lot of pep talks from Tatsuki. This would involve sitting on his desk before the bell rang, and other such things.

_This _Ichigo had noticed, and after a few times of this, he asked her what was going on. Unable to lie to him, she sheepishly explained everything to him. He then gave a slight laugh and merely commented that he thought her jealousy was cute.

This eased her worries some.

Though she still sat on his desk each morning.

* * *

**K** is for **Kurosaki**

Ichigo had been hesitant about introducing Orihime as his girlfriend to his family. He had put it off for as long as he could, but finally, the time came after Yuzu found a pair of Orihime's panties stuffed into his back pocket.

It turns out, there had been no need to worry. Orihime had gotten along excellently with his family, probably even better than he did. She had helped Yuzu with the laundry, had a discussion with Karin over soccer and even set a date to try out one of her games, and she'd even been able to successfully dodge unscathed one of his idiot dad's insane flying kicks after Isshin had misjudged and his kick was mistakenly aimed at her.

Things had gotten a bit better after Isshin had been knocked unconscious by his son due to the question about what Orihime's underwear looked like today.

She had even stayed for dinner, and Yuzu hadn't even batted an eye when she asked for red bean paste and honey to put on her dinner.

This had to be a sign, Ichigo had decided privately to himself. No one sane could get along with his family as well as she did.

* * *

**L** is for **Lust**

Sex was always an experience for them. With her innocence and his inexperience, it made for a hell of a ride.

The first time they tried it, they both agreed afterwards that it was really weird, even though it didn't stop them from trying an hour later, this time with handcuffs and whipped cream. It wasn't nearly as weird that time around.

From then on, sex only happened occasionally, as Orihime still wasn't that comfortable with it. Ichigo had agreed, only because Rukia (who was still bumming out in his closet) and Kon (who was still bumming out on him in general) were able to sniff it out on him like bloodhounds and were keeping him up even when he was way past exhaustion, pestering him about it.

Of course, a tired Ichigo is not a fun Ichigo, and he would usually tell Rukia that she could try it and then she would know with Renji, before chucking Kon out the door onto the front lawn and telling Yuzu that he had found Bostov. Rukia would usually become flustered and break his nose with her tiny, but deadly, fists.

Sometimes after sex, they would take a bath together, which would just lead to more fun adventures.

Orihime hadn't been able to respond when Tatsuki had found her case of birth control pills, and had merely fainted on her kitchen floor.

* * *

**M** is for **Mean**

Looking at Ichigo's face now, Orihime had to wonder how other people ever thought he was scary. Tracing his ever-furrowed eyebrows lightly with her index finger, she felt the thin hairs brush against her finger tips, almost ticklish.

Ichigo, used to this by now, sat still and allowed her to trace his facial features as she was prone to do on a pretty regular basis. "What're you thinking about?" He asked her quietly, absently rubbing circles on her exposed thigh with a callused thumb. She merely smiled at him, and didn't respond as she then attempted to make him smile by pulling the corners of his lips up. After she released, he held the smile for a second before it slipped away.

"Nothing important." She sighed, snuggling into his side.

* * *

**N** is for **Nightmare**

"Orihime, will you really be all right tonight?" Tatsuki asked her best friend worriedly. Orihime smiled at the Arisawa wanly. The normally bright Inoue looked exhausted with severe bags under her eyes and a rather pale complexion.

"I'll be fine," she responded tiredly. "The nightmares haven't been as bad lately, really!" She insisted, as if sensing Tatsuki's unspoken skepticism. The nightmares hadn't been getting any better, and they both knew it.

"Keep trying, Orihime. I almost believed you." Tatsuki rolled her eyes. Orihime attempted a pout, though it lacked her normal playful luster. "I still don't want to leave you alone, Orihime, all joking aside. These nightmares have been getting worse, despite what you say."

"Nightmares?" A voice echoed from behind Orihime. She froze, turning slowly.

"Hello, Kurosaki-kun," she greeted nervously. The Kurosaki's brown eyes scanned her pallid face with a new light, seeing her exhaustion in every line on her face. Now he felt bad for not having noticed what was so obvious.

"Hey, Orihime. Have you been having nightmares?" He was obviously not going to be distracted.

"Nothing too serious! They're mostly about the little blue men coming to take me back to their home planet!" She attempted to lie, her voice faux-cheerful.

"Orihime, don't lie," Tatsuki sighed, rolling her eyes at her friend's feeble lie. She turned to Ichigo. "She's been having these really bad nightmares for about a month. I've been staying over lately to make sure she doesn't hurt herself again."

"Again?" Ichigo echoed, glancing over at Orihime sharply. She refused to meet his gaze, knowing full well that he had already matched the time that she had been having the dreams with the time since they had been back from Hueco Mundo: both were about a month ago. Then it would have been easy for him to determine what her dreams were about and why Tatsuki didn't -couldn't- know.

"Yeah. After the first few nightmares, she sleep-walked out of her room and wound up falling down the stairs, and she fractured her wrists." Tatsuki informed him. Still unable to meet his surprised eyes, Orihime remained quiet and attempted to subtly hide her bandaged wrist behind her.

"And you can't stay over tonight, right?" Ichigo confirmed, eyes still on Orihime.

"Right…" She confirmed warily, obviously wondering where he was going with this.

"I'll stay with her tonight." Ichigo decided, leaving no room for argument. Tatsuki eyed him rebelliously, but took one look at his face and realized it was futile.

"Okay," she agreed before having to walk away as somebody called her name.

"You don't have to stay, Kurosaki-kun," Orihime told him quietly.

"Relax, it's no problem."

"But-"

"Orihime, I swore that I'd protect you. And if that includes nightmares, then so be it." He cut her off, crossing his arms.

She admitted defeat. "Okay," she smiled slightly.

* * *

**O** is for **Only**

They both knew that they were the only ones for each other.

He'd get hurt, she'd heal him. She'd get kidnapped or threatened, and he'd charge in like her own Prince Charming.

She worried too much about him and probably cried too much. He worried too much about her, and didn't cry enough.

She tried to get stronger so her Ichigo-kun wouldn't get badly hurt. He got stronger to keep his Orihime unhurt.

They were each other's only matches.

* * *

**P** is for **Patience**

"I-I-Ichigo-kun, please!" The Inoue panted breathlessly, face flushed.

"Hang on. I'm almost ready," The Kurosaki grunted, sweat dripping down his face.

"But this is uncomfortable!" She whined, struggling to maintain her position as Ichigo attempted to finish what he was doing. Finally, he succeeded and went straight to work on the kinks in his spine. The thing that he held in his hand twinkled ominously at Orihime, who blanched slightly. "Try not to poke me too many times, okay Ichigo-kun?"

A wicked smile. "Relax. If you get any pricks, I'll soothe them." He promised her lowly, crouching near her feet once more. Orihime blushed vividly at the innuendo, swallowing with difficulty. "There. I fixed your costume's hem, Orihime. Hopefully, it'll hold." Ichigo stated calmly, removing the sewing needle from her dress and returning it into Ishida's needle kit.

Relieved, Orihime hopped off of the stool and examined the fixed hem as best she could. "Thank you, Ichigo-kun!" She told him brightly. "I had no idea Ichigo-kun knew how to sew. Though I'm not sure me posing in it was necessary." She frowned lightly at the thought.

Ichigo gave a nonchalant shrug. "It wasn't. I had you do that for my own selfish pleasure."

* * *

**Q** is for **Quick**

Orihime was surprisingly quick on her feet; Ichigo couldn't help but notice as he ducked to avoid a blow that would have broken at least his nose.

His sweet, timid girlfriend lashed out with a kick that connected with his thigh painfully, causing him to wince. She was smiling slightly, as she ducked back to re-settle into her defensive position.

When Ishida had made a flippant comment about Orihime being a black belt, Ichigo couldn't believe it. That had led to a conversation with Tatsuki about Orihime's karate abilities, who confirmed her status as a black belt. Then he had decided that he had to experience it himself, and he asked Orihime to fight him. She had originally declined, but wound up being pressured into it by Chizuru.

He had known that he would have to hold back on her, but not as much as he originally thought. He lashed out with a kick, which she blocked. She grasped the fabric of his pants in one hand, blocking his foot from connecting with her by her other forearm. Ichigo's eyes widened as he recognized the move as one he had performed against Ganju when they had first met. She yanked sharply on the fabric of his pants, causing him to reel towards her. Once he was closer, she punched him full-on in the nose, causing his head to snap towards the side.

"And, TIME! I think that's enough whaling on Ichigo for today!" Tatsuki called, who had been acting as a make-shift referee. Holding his definitely broken nose as he attempted to halt the bleeding, Ichigo got to his feet. Orihime was already in front of him, looking up at him worriedly.

"I'm sorry, Ichigo-kun!" She cried, beside herself. "I knew that you were stronger than me, so I figured that I would make up for it as best I could, and I have a tendency to get into the mood and that's what happened the-"

"Orihime, don't worry about it. It was impressive," Ichigo cut her off in a clogged voice, as blood dripped down his chin to the grass at his feet. "Really. I'm fine. Nothing too bad."

"He considers a broken nose nothing too bad," Tatsuki remarked, rolling her eyes. "Dumb-ass."

"I'm sorry, Ichigo-kun," she apologized again, looking dejected.. "I'll take care of your nose later."

"Okay," he agreed, looking forward to it.

* * *

**R** is for **Relaxation**

After Orihime saw first-hand how much stress Ichigo normally has, she made sure that he always had some time where he could relax. This would usually involve doing something he enjoyed, or watching a stupidly funny movie, or something like that.

And if his deputy pass happened to go off during this time, she would forbid him to go take care of the Hollow, and would instead make someone else do it. Sometimes she did it, sometimes Chad did it or Ishida did, if he could make it look like he had just stumbled across the thing. She even called up Kurumadani once to have him take care of it (He had always meant to ask how she had been able to get the other Shinigami's number.)

And another time when she couldn't get in touch with anybody else, she made Ichigo go into Shinigami form, before sticking Kon into his body and sending the gikongan after it. When the mod soul had initially refused, she had unbuttoned her shirt a couple of buttons and offered to let him sleep in her bed that night.

Ichigo had never seen Kon move so fast before.

He knew how much his relaxation time meant to her, and didn't possess the heart to let her know that the knowledge of there being a Hollow that he couldn't take care of caused him to stress even more.

* * *

**S** is for **Strength**

Orihime, despite what she thought, was indeed rather strong.

Unlike Rukia, who was strong physically and mentally and looked the part, or Tatsuki who was stronger than most males he knew, or the female Shinigami in Soul Society who had their kido and their zanpaku-to, Orihime's strength was hidden behind silk.

Her strength came from her desire to become stronger despite her physical limitations, or her lack of new abilities. It came from her rock-hard determination to succeed as best she could, and her ability to always forgive and forget, no matter how much the person had wronged her.

Ichigo knew the story behind her hair. How she had kept it long because of her brother's love of the color, then had it cut short by a vengeful ninth grader, but finally was able to grow it long and keep it that way because of her love and trust in Tatsuki.

That's why he didn't say anything when she cut it short, so short it barely brushed her shoulders. Without saying a word, he knew that she had done it this time for herself. To prove it to no one _but_ herself. Her short hair was a silent promise to herself to stand on her own two feet from then on and not allow someone else to protect.

And he respected her for that.

* * *

**T** is for **Truth**

Much like herself, Ichigo was a horrible liar.

It didn't matter if it was to her, a friend, or his family. Something, usually something subtle, would give him away. Sometimes it was the way his eyes were averted, or his posture too stiff, or the way he could constantly rub at the back of his neck. But it was always something.

Once Orihime figured this out, she was always able to call him on it. This would incite frustration from him, but she always refused to tell him what had tipped her off.

Of course, now this ability wasn't as handy. As Ichigo slipped the simple, sky blue ring onto her finger, she suddenly wished that she hadn't been able to pick those quirks out.

It was not an engagement ring, but a promise ring, and that was good enough for her.

* * *

**U** is for **Unusual**

They were an unusual couple, Tatsuki mused.

She was a beautiful woman with a tendency to always forgive and was always naïve, and he was still an immature, rude brat with tweaked-out hair. She trusted too much, and he didn't trust enough.

She had an unhealthy obsession with disgusting food combinations, and he had an unusual almost-addiction to chocolate.

He could become a 'Death God', and she could reject fate.

God help their children.

* * *

**V** is for **Valentine's**

On Valentine's Day, he found a single chocolate on his desk. The small, rectangular box was inordinate with a single orange ribbon cutting across the white color in a messy bow.

Picking up the box, it was small and lightweight and when he opened it, there were only a few chocolates in it, though each of them were obviously homemade and intricate. There was a chocolate-covered strawberry with white chocolate drizzled over it, along with another white chocolate-covered strawberry with milk chocolate drizzled over it. There were also two small chocolate-covered caramels, along with a single white and milk chocolate heart.

Placing the box down, he glanced around to find the giver of the chocolates, only to see that no girls were looking at him. Rukia wouldn't dare give him chocolate now that she was officially with Renji (finally), Tatsuki never had before. The only person who he could even potentially see giving him chocolates hadn't even been there in a week.

"Oi, Tatsuki."

She looked up at his call, smirking slightly as she noticed the opened box of chocolates on his desk. "S'up, Ichigo?"

"Did you see anyone place that box on my desk?"

Her smirk grew bigger. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"Would you just tell me?" He asked in exasperation.

She laughed. "I'll tell you in three weeks. That way you'll have plenty of time to get her a return gift for White Day."

He scowled. He hated waiting.

* * *

**W** is for **White**

Orihime gnawed on the cuticle of her nail nervously, knowing very well that the day was March 14th.

She hadn't been at school on Valentine's Day, and therefore hadn't been able to see how Ichigo had reacted to her box of chocolates on his desk. Tatsuki had dictated it to her when she had returned from her short visitation with her relatives, and apparently it had been hilarious. During lunch, Ichigo had actually stormed around the school, demanding that he be told who had given him the chocolates, apparently fed up with waiting.

Now it was White Day, and she knew she wouldn't be able to get a present. She had left her name off of the box, and hadn't been able to fess up to him since she had been back, and Ichigo wasn't exactly the sharpest crayon in the box.

"Oi, stop that." A hand swatted at her wrist lightly, knocking the torn cuticle away from the Inoue's teeth.

"Hi, Tatsuki-chan," Orihime greeted, resorting to twiddling her thumbs.

"Man, you're more anxious than a hamster on speed," Tatsuki complained with a snort, sitting next to her best friend in a messy slump.

"Any idea if Ishida-kun's going to give you anything in return?" Orihime asked, attempting to subtly change the topic. Judging by the look Tatsuki shot her, she knew what Inoue was trying to do.

"He'd better." The Arisawa cracked her knuckles warningly, and Orihime winced, feeling pity for the Ishida. "Hey, look, Ichigo's here." Tatsuki pointed out obviously, trying to be sneaky and failing. "And there's Ishida. Excuse me."

Orihime's cheeks darkened four shades at the mention of the Kurosaki. "Hey, um, Orihime." Ichigo greeted her. He had lately been calling her by her first name, though he still sometimes flickered back to her surname.

"H-Hi, Kurosaki-kun," she greeted anxiously, her thumb twiddling pace increasing. "Happy White Day." She greeted, stammering slightly.

The Kurosaki returned her greeting, before looking slightly embarrassed. "Um, here." He shoved a small box into her hands brusquely, looking away.

Looking hopefully surprised, she opened the box to see a small necklace with a single, silver-white snowflake on it. "Thank you, Kurosaki-kun!" She told him in surprise, removing the necklace from the box to examine it more critically. "But how did you know it was me?

He smiled ruefully. "Tatsuki. Though she didn't tell me until a week ago, so I had short notice." He explained sheepishly.

She giggled as she attempted to fashion the necklace. She glanced over at Tatsuki, who winked at her.

After a moment, Ichigo helped her put on the necklace, looking flustered at touching her so intimately.

* * *

**X** is for **Xylophone**

"…Xylophone lessons?" Ichigo repeated dimly, utterly bewildered. His girlfriend nodded happily, standing before him holding a small, brightly-colored xylophone in her arms. "You want… xylophone lessons?"

"Yes!" Orihime exclaimed brightly. "I was browsing through one of the consignment stories and I found this, and it looks like so much fun! And of course if I'm going to play it, I should learn to play it right, so I thought lessons would help!" She exclaimed cheerfully.

'But it's the _child's_ version," was what his mouth wanted desperately to say, but with difficulty, he managed not to. "Well, I'm sure my cousin could give you lessons. He's not bad at the xylophone." He told her instead, trying desperately to keep from laughing.

"I'd like that very much!" She chirped, smiling.

"Good. I'll, uh, give him a call." Ichigo said weakly. He neglected to mention that his cousin was only ten months old.

* * *

**Y** is for **Youth**

Ichigo always seemed so much older than he actually was, Orihime mused silently to herself.

She knew that it was due to how much he had gone through since becoming a Shinigami. It was the endless effort to become stronger, better. It was saving Kuchiki-san from being executed. It was saving her from Hueco Mundo.

All of these things had contributed to the faint lines that now surrounded his narrowed brown eyes and the multiple scars that littered his body.

He was not even old enough to legally drink, but he seemed much, much older.

She made a personal vow to herself to protect him as much as possible.

* * *

**Z** is for **Zanpaku-to**

"What do you think my zanpaku-to would look like?" Orihime asked him at one point, out of the blue as they watched a random movie that they had already seen before.

"What?" Ichigo asked her, not understanding the question.

"Well, I mean. You already have Zangetsu, so even when you die, you'll probably just wind up continuing to be a Shinigami. I don't have that. So, if or when I'd become a Shinigami, what do you think my zanpaku-to would look like?" She explained, slightly propping herself up off of his chest to look at him.

"Oh. Um, well, I'd suppose that it'd be blue, about the blue of your hairpins. With a different-colored hilt, maybe… white? White always goes with blue. It'd be small, and fast. It'd have your Shunshun Rikka abilities, that's a given. Um, I guess that'd be it." Ichigo shrugged, pausing as he thought. "Yeah. I think so. Did you have a better idea?"

"Um, no." She lied smoothly, snuggling back into his chest. "I like yours more."

* * *

Nothing much to add except that I hope you liked it.

No bribery this time around, as all of my plushies and cookies are going towards AWiP. Hee hee.

Review, yes?

-Vampyre Heartbreak


End file.
